Land Board Qualifications (Act 9) - Requires at least one member of the Board of Land and Natural Resources to have a degree in conservation or a relevant field, or "work history sufficient to demonstrate an appropriate level of knowledge in the subject of land and natural resources".

Help with Coqui (Act 51) - Appropriates $300,000 to aide in coqui control. To Kaua‘i and Oahu $50,000 each and to Hawai‘i and Maui, $100,000 each.

Pest Inspections (Act 64) - Requires that the DOA adopt certain rules that will improve inspections for organisms coming into the state.

Electricity Sell-Back (Act 104) - Allows the Public Utilities Commission to lift the ceiling on electricity sell-back to the utility company.

Dumping Penalties (Act 105) - Dumping and amount of solid waste equal or greater than one cubic yard but less than 10 cubic yards is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $25,000 for each offense, a jail term of up to 30 days, or revocation or suspension of a contractor's license.

Increased Mooring Fees (Act 126) - Increase from a fixed 2 percent to 3 percent of gross revenues or twice the assessed moorage fees, whichever is greater.

Environmental Appeals (Act 130) - Gives the Off iced of Environmental Quality Control the ability to review an agencies determination of No Significant Impact for a new project.

Legacy Lands (Act 156) - This bill increases the conveyance tax to rase funds for affordable housing and land preservation through the Natural Area Reserves System (NARS). The increase only applies to properties selling for over $600,000. Revenues from the conservation fund will be used to make grants to nonprofit land conservation organizations and state and county agencies to purchase significant lands such as open spaces, scenic lands, and coastal and cultural lands.

Solar Energy (Act 157) - Owners of houses and condos are allowed to install solar energy devices without the approval of their homeowners' or condominium owners' associations, but they would have to notify them.

No Golf on Ag Lands (Act 205) - Bans the construction of any new golf course on land in the State Agricultural District.

Bottle Bill Amendments (Act 206) - Cruise ships, airplanes and other "commercial passenger vessels" do not have to comply with the state bottle-deposit law, provided they have a recycling plan, a copy of which must be filed the state Dept. of Health. This bill also allows redemption centers to accept flattened aluminum cans for refunds.

Sharks (Act 233) - Appropriates $25,000 to DLNR for a program to tag and monitor sharks along the coast of Oah‘u from Pearl Harbor to Ka‘ena Point. This was brought about because some fishers were concerned that shark populations were increasing as a result of the presence of nearby open-ocean aquaculture.

Miloli‘i Fishing (Act 232) - Establishes the Miloli‘i Fisheries Management Area as a community subsistence fishery management area. It directs DLNR to make rules that will protect the community's traditional fishing practices.

Reverse Vending Rebates (Act 228) - Authorizes the Dept. of Health to give $3 million a year in rebates to container redemption centers to offset the cost of purchasing reverse vending machines.

Bottle Bill Update (Act 227) - Orders the Dept of Health to facilitate information sharing between beverage-container manufacturers and redemption centers, particularly regarding the bar-code information that is read by the reverse vending machines.

Coastal Light Pollution Act ( 224) - Prohibits the use of artificial lights to illuminate the shoreline and ocean waters for "decorative or aesthetic purposes". There are some exceptions, such as public-safety purposes, hotel, and condo lighting.

Outrigger Canoe Storage (Act 220) - Clubs registered with the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association are now allowed to be stored on state shorelines at no charge, provided they agree to hold the state harmless, and if requested, procure sufficient insurance. The canoes must be placed where they will not interfere with other beach users, and they must comply with other applicable county and state permitting requirements.

Cruse Ship Pollution Act (Act 217) - Sets standards for emissions and discharges from cruise ships in state waters.

Wai‘anae Coast (Act 6) - Forbids the DLNR from issuing any new permits to commercial tour operators in the harbor and offshore areas, and the DLNR must deliver a baseline environmental study to the Legislature.

Office of Planning (Act 12) - The Office of Planning (part of the Dept. of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism) has been reporting to Peter Young, Director of DLNR, since a reorganization by Gov. Lingle two years ago. The Legislature, in this Act, said that the Office of Planning could only report to the Dept of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and that the director of that office would be subject to approval by the Senate.

Sustainable Planning (Act 8) - Requires the Legislative Auditors office develop a "Hawai‘i 2050 Sustainability Plan". This would include a review of the current Hawai‘i state plan, last updated years ago.

NOTE: The source of this information is an article entitled "2005 Legislature Leaves Its Mark on Hawai‘i's Environmental Laws", by Patricia Tummons, "Environment Hawai‘i", August 2005. She wrote comprehensively about all of these bills. Visit their web site at www.environment-hawaii.org for in-depth reporting on Hawai‘i's conservation issues and environment.